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umm...I liked it better before.

Oh dear, Hessilou beat me to the punch.

I don't think this summery stripe is a good choice for this chair (or, any tufted chair, for that matter).

Thanks for the how-to--useful and easy to follow directions, but I affirm the vote for the original upholstery. Such a traditional chair begs for a formal fabric with some heft.

I agree with everyone, the before was better!

The green velvet looked good on the back of the chair but was worn on the seat. The purpose of this project was to show a technique for converting a deep tufted chair back into a non-diamond tufted back. You could also tuft by using covered buttons but no deep diamond folding technique. The green chair just didn't sing to me. Sometimes you just have to try something new for a change.

i love the after, It's really fresh unlike the sort of standard thrift store green.
This is such a great tutorial - but I have to admit, still pretty intimidating.
i will definitely refer back to it.

oh my had no idea my parents chairs from Levitz in the 70's would be a topic. This too shall pass.

Argh!!! I was going to purchase almost exactly the same chair but was laid off and wasn't sure how to reupholster it anyhow. This makes me a little sad :(

Although, I'm not crazy about the choice of fabric, I do think it's fresh and has a bit of the Caribbean Island feel.

I think the new fabric is chic. It looks like something in Cote Sud.

love the new look. :-)

I love it! Beautiful, fun and summery.

I think it looks great. Although, I think the fabric would look better if the chair had been painted white/off white. But the original fabric looked dated. What's the point of reusing old furniture if you can't reinvent it?

it's so cute. and though i'm still intimidated by the thought of doing that myself, this post encourages me to give it a try if i find the right chair.

Love the new fabric. Bold and really brings the chair to life and away from the old tired predictable faux classic look. And yes, the summer like colors spruce it up.

also, while the post reads "How to: french tuft..." the reupholstering fills in the tufting and puts these little ties in the place of them. this is just "How to: reupholster a chair"

I think this looks pretty good for a DIY upholstery job but honestly the self-welting and the french tufting are what really make the chair, I think. I like the fabric choice but it may have been worth it to have this one professionally reupholstered.

If you're attempting a first time reupholstery job, I'd start with a basic dining chair, which can definitely be done well at home with a screw driver and a staple gun.

I like everything about this. The finished wood (and caning) have a rich and vibrant glow, and the fabric choice and tufting style are so fresh. How the tufts line up in the stripes ... yummy! Bravo, Shelly.

The comprehensive pho-tutorial style is extra awesome. Beyond a mere staple job, this How-To inspires me to stretch and try a more ambitious project than I might have done on my own.

And, since the chair is in no way destroyed ... if one wanted to redo it using heavy green velvet and deep button tufts at a later date, one could.

I liked the "before" better too - I would have used it as-is and waited to have it done professionally with proper welting, tufting, etc. when I could afford it.

Thanks for the comments. The ties are pulled tight to make tufts and I opted to leave out the welt cord for a more modern, casual look. I really like the clean lines on the edge with the topstitching. When all is said and done, the chair is not, by any means, top of the line. In fact, it's really lightweight and has a very short front to back measurement. It was the perfect chair on which to to experiment. I usually donate my how-to's to local fundraisers or sell them.

For a diamond tufting lesson, see:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/how-to/how-to-diamond-tufting-101-069275

Well, the upholstery job for the stated purpose is nicely done. However, I tend to agree with others who would prefer that the formality of the chair be continued with the welting and diamond tufting. Also, I think the bigger issue is the stripes which don't work that well with the shape of the chair or the caning. If doing the exact same project and deliberately making the chair more casual, I think an overall print (maybe a wild Hawaiian floral) would have worked better and converted the caning into something more tropical.

Great! Now if only I could learn to reupholster my big stuffy arm chair!